Courtshipism
by arjelle
Summary: "Really, Arnold, really? Going steady?" "Well, I thought it was romantic..." A look on the unlikely (yet fated) pair's awkward progression in romance accompanied by equally awkward love advice provided by Arnold's parents. Wish them luck, because they need it. Post TJM.
1. Asking the Question, Level 1

**Courtshipism  
**"Really, Arnold, really? Going steady?" "Well, I thought it was romantic..." A look on the unlikely (yet fated) pair's awkward progression in romance accompanied by equally awkward love advice provided by Arnold's parents. Wish them luck, because they need it. Post TJM.

_{I am not sorry at all. Also, I don't own Hey Arnold! Enjoy!}_

* * *

**The Important Question**

"You haven't asked her yet!? Even Pookie isn't that crazy, Shortman!"

In that moment, for the first time in Arnold's life, he was 100% sure that his Grandpa finally said something that made complete and utter sense.

And that made him the guiltiest person on Earth.

Miles stopped in his tracks and entered the living room. "He hasn't asked who what yet, dad?"

Add embarrassed to that list.

It was almost the end of October, only a week away from Halloween; even so, Arnold's little crisis had only started.

Just a week ago, he and his class had returned from the week-long trip in San Lorenzo. It had started off badly however, as the bus that was to take them to the village that they were to stay in had been more than an hour late and temperature there was unacceptable. A fact proven so by Rhonda complaining that her hair was going to frizz with how high the temperature was. But, that was just the least of her worries, and the start of all of their problems. Unfortunately, just a day after staying not even a full day at the village, it got raided by La Sombra's goons and they were all forced to split up. Their adventure had lasted the whole week and had ended with a battle with La Sombra's goons against his class, Arnold's parents, and the Green Eyed People. And while they were all fighting, Arnold and Helga kissed for the fourth time, and Arnold kissed her back for the first time. With all the mess that had happened, they had luckily confirmed their love for each other and yet, they didn't confirm their actual _relationship_ with each other.

_'The nerve of that boy!'_ He'd think what Helga probably thought, which she actually did. '_Made me wait for seven years and thought it'd be okay to make me wait for him to ask me out! You are so lucky with the amount of love I have for you, football head or I'd take it back again.'  
_

"Oh, your son hasn't asked his little friend out," Grandpa informed Miles casually. "Even though they already kissed for _four_ times! How long are ya gonna keep her hanging, Shortman? Cheese and crackers!"

Miles blinked. "Four times?"

Grandpa nodded and stood up from his seat. "You know what, I'm gonna let you take this one, son. First talk about boyhood problems with your son, and this is a good one, too!" He patted Miles' back. This could not get even more embarrassing. "Good luck! To the both of you! Stella, you may want to help Miles out on this one."

He could not believe this got more embarrassing.

"Alright," Stella had nodded to Phil before she had entered the living room and sat in a seat next to Miles. "What's the problem? Arnold, are you hurt? Do I need to break out the medical kit or—"

"It's not that type of problem Stella," Miles assured her.

"Oh good!" She put her hand over her chest and let out a loud, thankful sigh.

"So Arnold," Miles shifted his gaze to his son. "_Four times?_"

Not wanting to lie to his parents, Arnold had corrected him "...actually, it was five, I miscounted..." as he stared at the carpet below his feet. Just because he didn't want to lie to them didn't mean he wanted to look them in the eye as he did so.

Stella, not being fully informed on the situation, had elbowed Miles lightly and had asked him silently what was going on. Miles, going on with the apparent charades game, had made his attempts in explaining Arnold's predicament by pointing to him, followed by making hand puppets kissing each other, before finally pointing to his watch and held up all five digits.

With all due respect, Stella had really meant to mouth her reaction to Miles. "Five times!"

Arnold winced and had begun spewing his explanation. "The first was for a school play, the second was when we won a cameo appearance on a show— and it wasn't even on script, the third was on top of the FTi building when we were saving the neighborhood, and the fourth and fifth so far… were in San Lorenzo…!"

Miles and Stella couldn't help but give each other a hi-five. But that was inappropriate. "To clarify, over the time, did you two get an understanding of each other's feelings?" Arnold nodded. "Son, I think it's pretty obvious that you have to ask her."

"Yes Arnold, even though you've sorted out your feelings for each other, she may still be confused about this," Stella agreed. "The right thing to do is just ask her. And because you two already know that you like… or _like-like_ each other, you shouldn't be afraid to ask. Because I'm pretty sure she'd say yes."

"But I don't know _how_ to ask her is the problem," Arnold stated.

"Well," Stella began. "When asking someone out, it has to come from your heart, Arnold. You have to be straightforward…"

"But at the same time, romantic," Miles added.

"Not _too_ romantic."

"Just a simple, _"Will you go steady with me?"_ Will do."

"Steady?" Stella gave Miles a puzzled look. "Miles, I know we've practically been stuck in a cave for quite some time, but I'm pretty sure that line's outdated."

Miles shrugged. "Dad told me that's how he asked Mom out when they were young-"

"Hey! I may be old but I can still hear you!"

"_-er,_" Miles continued. "And hey, it worked!"

"We're sorry we can't be more of a help to you Arnold," Stella apologized. "We're still sort of new to this…"

"It's okay," Arnold smiled. "You tried, and I should too."

"Oh! Would you look at the time! Come on Arnold, we'll walk you over to the bus," He nodded, grabbing his lunch and followed his parents out the door. As they stood by the bus stop, they had been giving him more advice and tips on how to ask her the question coupled by apologies based on how they would have loved to drive or walk Arnold over to school. It was the weekend that had followed the week of the field trip, and boy it was a tiring one! They had lost their passports over the years, but thankfully they were given a trip back home anyways, but had to go to a mandatory meeting in a federal bureau as soon as possible in order to straight things out.

There was also the fact that their driver's license had most likely already expired.

The bus had eventually driven over to his stop and had opened the doors for him. As he stepped on to the bus, his parents wished him a final good luck and waved to him as the doors closed on them. "To be honest, I wasn't expecting problems like this until he was thirteen. Sixteen even!"

"Our boy is growing up so fast."

Miles smiled warmly and held Stella closer as they walked back to the boarding house. "Good thing we're back so we won't miss anymore."

She couldn't agree more.

* * *

"Arnold!" Half the bus had greeted him that morning.

"Never again, do you hear me? Next time, I'll even agree for a hike in the woods, just not the jungle again, _ever,_" Rhonda deadpanned. "Stop doing that Curly! Just because the Green Eyes gave you a recipe and some sort of weirdo incantation does not mean it'll actually work!"

"Just you wait my love!"

Nadine shook her head. "I could only disagree… on the jungle part, of course! I loved it, despite the fact we had to fight those men in the end."

"Same here," Sheena nodded.

"If you see the villagers again, tell them I'm sorry about setting off their traps too early…" The bus hit a bump. "I'm okay!"

"Well, if it involves a trip with food and fighting, count me in!" Harold boasted.

"Only without the monkeys," Sis interjected.

"Wilikers, Arnold, we're sorry if we're saying too much," Stinky apologized.

"But if you don't mind us by asking," Lila begun. "Is it ever so fun to be with your parents again?"

"Arnold? Hey Arnold, you okay?" Gerald asked him.

As they all chattered, their voiced had muffled while he was walking down the buses' aisle. With each row of seats he had passed, his heart rate increased steadily only to make him more nervous than he already was.

That is, until he'd reach that one row. "Uh Phoebe, if you don't mind, can I take that seat?"

"Certainly not, Arnold," She smiled and stood up. Before she switched her spot next to Gerald, she patted his back. It had only made him felt like this was all a plan. A plan that everyone had been on, even Gerald, except him. As soon as he planted his seat next to Helga, the bus became silent.

And when he would speak his first words to her since the confession during the trip, every head made a hesitation to turn in their direction.

"Hey football head," Good, some familiarity may tone this down. "How's tricks?"

"Sorry I couldn't talk to you or anything after the trip—" He began, but only to be interrupted by her.

_"Arnold." _Uh-oh.

"Yes Helga?"

She turned to face him and gave him a stern look. "Quit beating around the bush."

"Will you go steady with me?" That had done it. By now, every head had turned in shock and the bus had been forced to go on an abrupt stop as the bus driver himself took one look at the rear-view mirrors to look at their reflection. The whole bus remained silent for a while, but it had been rudely interrupted when a car behind it had honked its horn repetitively, causing the bus driver to continue driving. Even so, Helga's shocked, yet confused expression remained, along with everyone else's.

What did he just do!?

More importantly, why hasn't she given him an answer yet?

She loved him, and he loved her, wasn't it supposed to be simple?

Well, he supposed it _could_ have gone simpler if he had rephrased his words a bit. His mom was right; asking someone 'to go steady' was outdated. He guessed that if he wasn't such a nervous wreck around her all the time, maybe he could have asked her more, well, modernly!

_'Going steady,'_ he thought. _'How romantic!_'

"Really, Arnold, really?" Helga scoffed. "Going steady?"

"Well, I thought it was romantic," he lied. It wasn't. It _may_ have been about a couple _decades _ago, but it wasn't now.

"Well you thought wrong," She flicked his nose. "But…"

He perked up.

She put emphasis on the next words she would say. It may have been to mock him and his way of asking her out or it might have been her way of stating that he was hers. But no matter.

"Of course _I'll go out with you_, football head," She gave him a small warm smile before she playfully punched him in the arm. "It's about time you asked."

She said yes.

* * *

_{Is it bad that whenever I read a Helga/Arnold fic and when they're portrayed with behaviors like Lulu, it bothers me? I mean, yeah they're in a relationship and Helga's been holding off for years to show her love to Arnold but still! To be honest, I see their progression in romance to be awkward yet still steady. Arnold's a good kid, yet he doesn't know the physical side of love. Meanwhile, Helga wants nothing more than to be a sap with Arnold, yet she doesn't want to smother him. I just wanted to play with that idea. Plus since Miles and Stella are still fairly new to the parenting business, I thought it'd be even more entertaining with their attempts at giving love advice to their ten-year-old son. Hope you guys will enjoy this! Also, my version of TJM will have to be put on hold, I can only do so much at the same time, and this one just grabbed me unexpectedly, sorry.}_

**Next time: **Hand Holding.


	2. Hand Holding, Part One

_{Welcome back; edited the first chapter a bit too.}_

* * *

**Holding Back by Holding Hands**

"Quit beating around the bush."

So he did. "Will you go steady with me?"

Helga had always seen herself as a rather assertive and aggressive person. And yet, she still had that soft, mushy center all thanks to the football headed kid sitting next to her. Speaking of which, he'd almost made her swoon had it not been for the past minute, he'd been stammering and rambling on about how sorry he was for not contacting her over the weekend. At some point, she'd swear that the habit of beating around the bush was in his family's genes because he was bad as Arnie was when he told her he loved her. Helga shuddered at that memory. She had to admit though, that Arnold was cute when he did, so she had to make an exception.

Even so, she didn't want to make him repeat what she had lived through.  
When they got to the airport in San Lorenzo, they had found out that Miles and Stella had lost their passport. But really, who could blame them? They'd been missing for nearly a decade! And because they had booked the last flight of the day and because they had missed that said flight due to circumstances already mentioned, they had to leave first thing in the morning after. Boy, did she want to strangle someone. "It'll only take an hour," They said. "Don't worry, you won't miss your flight," they said. And oh, how they had lied.

What was worst of all about the whole ordeal was that she had been avoiding Arnold ever since they had left San Lorenzo. No, she didn't take it back this time and yes, he had said that he loved her too, but after that minor incident when Gerald and Phoebe (mostly Gerald, though) interrupted them, they had laughed sheepishly before they decided that they should probably join them. As they walked to and down the steps, they did so with only millimeters in between them, just enough for their hands to be brushing against each other just slightly. And as soon as she though that they'd start holding hands, he got pulled in by his parents into a bear hug.

Her eyes had widened a bit, but after seeing Arnold and his parents finally together again, she'd cross her arms and smile just a little bit. Right before Olga had tackled her down with her own strong bear hug as she cried about how worried she was about her and for the first time in her life, had given her a scolding of how she should never run off like that. But, as she did, it was with more of a loving than a frustrated manner.

After the whole class had reunited, the Green Eyes invited them for a celebration, which they all had gone to, of course. There, Arnold had confronted her about what they did, and it seemed that he was about to ask her out. Which, he did by the way. But even though he never completely asked her the question, she got the message. So, as his parents and her sister had pulled them all in a dance, she had smile and nod at him before joining everyone in the dance.

But, apparently, Arnold must've thought that when he had asked that question that time, it didn't count.

_'Quick Helga, say something! Don't look like an idiot in front of him!_'

"Really, Arnold, really?" _'You are an idiot.'_ "Going steady?"

"Well, I thought it was romantic," _'Don't take it back, don't take it back, don't take it back.'  
_

"Well, you thought wrong," and then she had flicked his nose. Meanwhile, in her mind, she had flicked herself on her forehead. _'Save it, you little… or you'll regret this later! And you know it!'_ "But…"

He perked up. _'Yes, yes, accept it!'  
_

"Of course_, I'll go out with you,_ football head," Of course, she had to emphasize those words. You'd think she was stating that Arnold's was her, but for once, it wasn't deliberate as she meant it playfully as the soft punch she delivered at his arm. Now, she had to give it a finish. "It's about time you asked."

_'Yes, bravo Helga! Excellent performance, you're back on stage when class starts!'  
_

"Excuse me for a moment Arnoldo, but I have to go do…" Did she just say excuse me? Oh yeah, she definitely had to go do… _"Something." _

If she didn't run out of the bus so quickly, she would've seen that love struck gaze Arnold had given her. Oh, if only. "Sure, Helga."

As she did, ran past the aisle of the bus and went straight to somewhere—anywhere at all that she could just have to herself. Eyeing her office (which was really the janitor's closet) she has burst into another one of her soliloquys.

"Oh Arnold, my love, at last you have returned my feelings after several years of me pining for you! Although, how you had asked me out is a bit iffy, no matter! You still asked! No longer will I feel the need to hold back my feelings for you as I know you will not reject me. Even though the other kids may tease us for just being together, I know that one way or another, you will coax me into brushing it off. Oh Arnold, my love, my life, my light. Where would I be without you?"

Cue the heavy breathing.

Helga sighed. She thought she and Brainy had sorted this out in San Lorenzo, but apparently not.

_'Hello, Old Betsy.'_

_'Hello, Brainy's head, glasses, and nose! It's been a while!'_

_'Guess we're back in routine, aren't we?'_

_'Guess so!'_

Brainy fell on top of the stacked boxes after Helga socked him.

_'See you next time!'_

Seeing as this as her cue to leave for class, Helga creeped out of the closet and had strolled off to class. Unfortunately, a realization had hit her in almost the same way she just had hit Brainy.

She, as in Helga G. Pataki. And he, as in Arnold Phillip Shortman (she had prided herself as being probably the only person outside of his family, both boarding house and biological, who truly knew his whole name, even before he told her). Were in a relationship. Sure, it sounded just wonderful and fulfilling, at first. But, then. She realized that this meant that they were practically obligated to do 'couple stuff' in _public_. Something that she had minded a whole lot.

Another thing Helga knew about herself for sure was her need of privacy. Now, that time spying and stalking on Arnold alone had to be converted into actually spending time with him. Which, of course, she didn't mind at all, but what she did mind was sharing those loving moments she had long awaited for with other people's eyes to see. But, what had really hit her was that because of Arnold being Arnold, he would try and get her to open up. Not only in personality but also in how she felt about him.

And that was a lot.

So, she had come to a conclusion.

She had to hold back in showing her love for Arnold.

Helga entered their 5th grade classroom to see the boy himself sitting on his usual desk, but this time, instead of chatting with Gerald, pausing for her to move past, and then going back to chat with his best friend, he did something a little different. He saw her enter the room, and he immediately lit up, his cheeks doing somewhat the same thing but had tinted with a light pink as he smiled and waved at her. She couldn't help but smile back at him.

_'This is going to be hard,'_ just right after the sight of Arnold, she was immediately faced with her classmates snickering to each other, and she could've sworn that Harold had been making kissy-faces when she wasn't paying attention to him. Helga shifted her gaze from Arnold to the rest of her class, who she all gave a menacing glare to. Good, that had shut them up. _'But this is for the best.'_

* * *

"Wilikers fellas! I just saw Helga an' Arnold holdin' hands!"

"Boy howdy, Helga looked pretty furious too!"

_"Awwnold's alweady whooped by his giwlfrwiend!"_ Harold laughed mockingly.

"It's _whipped,_ Harold," Phoebe corrected him.

"_Whoop_ is what I'm going to do to you if you don't shut up!" Helga growled as she gripped onto Harold's collar with her one free hand.

"Boy, Helga," Harold tried to stop his snickering, believe me, he really did try to. "I bet I could take you more seriously if your other hand wasn't super glued to your boyfriend."

"Oh believe me pink boy, if it wasn't, I would have already punched you right here and right now," she hissed as she threw Harold on the floor.

"Helga!"

"Oh don't you start, Arnold, this," she held up their hands. "Is all _your _fault."

Arnold was about to say something, right before he immediately stopped himself. "I'm sorry, Helga, I didn't know you were about to wash your hands because of the superglue."

"That's right—"

"But you didn't have to spill it in the first place," If only he could have kept the fire going in the first night they had to camp out alone in San Lorenzo. But no, that ability had to be saved for his and Helga's first fight as a couple. He really hated his sense of timing.

"Arnold, Helga," oh yeah. Mr. Simmons. They almost forgot about him because of all of the ruckus they'd started.

They sighed with exasperation. "Yes, Mr. Simmons?"

"Aw, look Nadine; they're already saying their sentences in sync with each other!" Nadine giggled in response. Rhonda didn't mean it as a teasing remark, but Helga was too frustrated to care. She just growled and shot them a glare. Rhonda let out a small _"Touchy, touchy…"_ Before she had quieted down.

Mr. Simmons looked at their intertwined hands. "Have you two gone to the nurse about your special problem?"

"She's on lunch break," Arnold informed him.

"Have you thought about using the water fountain?"

"It's _warm_ water, not _cold_ water," Helga stated. "We would have also gone into the bathroom to fix this little incident, but if Principal Wartz had caught us, he'd get in trouble for going in there, and I would for letting him go in there. Or the other way around."

"I bet if Helga went into the guy's bathroom, Principal Wartz wouldn't have noticed!"

Gerald threw a ball of paper at him. "Dude, cut it out," As he said, this his hand gestured to a motion that moved to and fro above his neck as he pointed to Helga, who was glaring Harold down. He only sank in his seat, hoping to hide himself from her.

"Well, I guess you guys are stuck like this," A small fit of giggles arose from the class behind Arnold and Helga. "Until the nurse comes back. Oh, Helga, I hope this doesn't affect your writing, it would just upset me if your creative abilities in the poetry assignment were to be—"

"Don't worry Mr. Simmons, I've had to write with my other hand before, it's alright," Helga laughed, just a bit too shaky as she tried to change the subject.

"I'll still love your poem though; it'll be just as special!" He beamed.

Now, Helga full and well knew that Mr. Simmons wasn't a dim sun. Even though the class couldn't really tell, she could as she knew for a fact that what he had said had a double meaning. The class thought that it would be just because she would write with the hand she's less used to using with but she knew that he knew that he also meant "Maybe you'll stop signing your poems by anonymous now that you and Arnold are in a special relationship together now!"

As if.

Because Helga knew that if she would do that, the class would eventually fit the pieces together and find out that she's been the one who's been writing those anonymous poems. And that she's been practically not been only in love with the boy, but also obsessed with him! No. She wouldn't have that.

Ignorance was bliss because the less they knew, was more than enough bliss for her.

If Arnold had to find out about her behavior, he'd have to know from Helga herself.

And she doesn't plan on telling him until she knows that he's ready to hear about her obsessive behavior or until he figures it out himself.

Whichever comes first.

But now, Arnold had more pressing matters to deal with.

He sighed, hopefully not sounding too love sick or too loud as he made a quick glance at his and Helga's super glued hands.

At least they had started to hold hands.

**To Be Continued.**

* * *

_{I wanted this to be the hand holding segment but then I realized that I had to work on Helga's part of the story. And then right after I decided that I also wanted to elaborate more on Arnold's part. Just before I remembered that I promised that this would be the hand holding segment. So in the end, I just split it into two. The first half with Helga and the second half with Arnold. After this it should be hugging… Yes, I plan on going step by step, guys. }_


	3. Hand Holding, Part Two

_{Howdy, all. I just got an idea for a way later chapter and it really upsets me that I can't publish it now.}_

* * *

**The List**

"Excuse me for a moment Arnoldo, but I have to go do…" She paused, thinking it over. _"Something."_

"Alright, Helga, see you in class."

And off she went.

With his heart in tow.

Boy that was sappy, he was sure glad he didn't say that out loud.

In the morning before the incident involving the super glue, Arnold had asked Helga to go steady with him. Yes, of course, she had to make fun of him for that. Honestly, he did lead himself into that one. But, nonetheless, she answered yes. And that's all that mattered to him. One may think that her instant request to "go do something" was just to get far away enough for him not to hear her laugh. But let's face it, crush or no crush; Helga G. Pataki could never be that heartless. That and Arnold knew that she was just going to burst into a poetic monologue and he knew that she wasn't ready for that side of her to be let out of the bag just yet. Arnold had known that but also, he would defend her name for her honor, as a gentleman should. Moreover, as a good boyfriend should.

_Boyfriend._

He was _Helga G. Pataki's __**boyfriend**_.

If he could go back in time and tell his nine-year-old self who he was going out at this current time period, his younger self would just laugh. Pause for a moment,thinking about it. And then, he would laugh some more before he realized that he knew that he wouldn't lie to himself, of all people (even though he'd been doing that for half the fourth grade year) and would think about it again. After that second thought, he'd figure his nine-year-old self would faint of shock, and all the same, hoping that this was all a dream. But it wasn't.

This was cold hearted reality, even though Arnold didn't find it as cold.

A year ago, he didn't even really pay attention to Helga that much. He would only look back to see who'd been throwing the spit balls at him (even though he'd know who the culprit was anyway), tell them to stop, before promptly turning around. Only for another spitball to be shot at him, and as soon as it did, he would sigh and try to ignore it for the rest of the class. She just bugged him, was all that he could offer to describe his relationship with Helga.

But then.

The Mighty Pete Incident with Big Bob Pataki. And how Helga stopped him. Indirectly, of course; but still, she'd managed to stop her dad from cutting Mighty Pete down to size.

After that, Arnold had begun questioning Helga's ulterior motives. Did she really mean what she said? Or did she just really care about Mighty Pete too? Even more so, why did she help them out in the first place? From that moment on, he not only started to observe her behavior more closely and started his attempts in bringing out her nicer side, but that was also when his confusion about her had started. Because after that came his slight falling out with Lila (but that was more on her side, though), the school play, spring break, and most of all, the FTi incident.

Why did she do the things she do? He didn't know. What were her reasons? He didn't know. And a new set of questions had arrived after the FTi incident. Why did she have to act like the way she does all the time? Why did she love him so much? And most importantly, how_ did_ he feel about her?

Oh that question had haunted him to no end, and he didn't even know it.

For months Arnold had been conflicted with himself about actually thinking about the incident. Sure, they agreed it was a heat of the moment situation, but it stuck on Arnold's mind like a leech did to your skin. One day, he decided that now was the time to think about his relationship with Helga. A bad timing really, as his decision was made as soon as they boarded the flight to San Lorenzo. Arnold figured with the hours on the plane and Helga being warded off by her sister for her to bug him, he would have time and peace to think. Unfortunately, his thinking had lasted throughout the whole trip and on instances had created circumstances that almost put them all in danger.

Fortunately, he _and_ Helga—keyword: _and_, both sorted out their feelings for each other. And as he was just about to ask her out, he'd been so rudely interrupted. By his own best friend! Gerald showed no signs of disapproval, in later time Arnold would learn that Gerald had been having suspicions on his and Helga's relationship ever since April fool's day in fourth grade. Awkward tension had filled the atmosphere as soon as Gerald and Phoebe went off, so Arnold and Helga decided to go down the steps and reunite with everybody. As they did, Arnold could have sworn that he and Helga were about to hold hands. But as he was about to intertwine his hand with hers, he got pulled into a bear hug by his parents. This was an exceptionable interruption.

Later that night, Arnold was about to properly ask Helga out. And yes, as you expect it, he got interrupted again. He saw Helga smile softly and nod, but Arnold figured she meant that she'd dance with him. Now, however, there were no interruptions. And she said yes!

Oh, how his heart had swooned as he watched his girlfriend scurry away so that she could spew out poetry about him. He blushed at that thought and had begun to wonder how her lovely poem would go. Arnold would try and come up with the words, but alas, it could never compare to Helga's standards of poetry. He would just imagine her stringing those words together so naturally with flow and passion as she would recite them aloud to a preferred empty audience. Meanwhile, she would often make gestures with her arms and body dramatically. Once, Arnold had caught a glimpse of Helga in poses such as those, and he had no idea how it was so, but there was just a lingering light with a certain angle that aimed towards her and he could almost hear a chorus of angels sing. But then he snapped back into reality as the lunch bell had rung. The door of the choir class had hit him, causing him to go flying at Helga, who then shoved him off right before stomping off to the cafeteria with Phoebe. The guy who was fixing the lights even had to step down from his ladder to help Arnold up.

"Hey Arnold," Gerald snapped his fingers in front of Arnold's eyes. "You commin' man?"

"Oh," Arnold's half lidded gaze had shot up. "Yeah Gerald, I was just thinking."

"A dangerous hobby," He shook his head as they hopped off the bus. Arnold shrugged, smiling. "Even more dangerous now that you have a girlfriend."

"Wha—no!"

"—Don't even play that game with me Arnold," Gerald deadpanned. "Exactly a minute ago, I had to pull you out of one of your daydreams."

"I was remembering," Arnold stated defensively.

"Oh please, Arnold, I know that look of yours, you have it every time you had a crush on a girl, and now that you're in love and in a relationship with one? It's gotten worse, and you've got it bad."

Arnold blushed and muttered a little, "Not _that_ bad."

"Just promise me that you two won't make me the third wheel," Gerald said.

"Gerald…"

"Promise!"

Arnold sighed. "Alright Gerald, promise," the two did their secret handshake. "Plus, if anything, you can spend more time with Phoebe."

Gerald smiled at that thought as Arnold opened the door to their classroom. "But anyways Arnold, I'm sorry for putting you on the edge like that."

"It's alright Gerald," Arnold assured him.

"But I guess it's okay for you to swoon after Helga like that," he then chuckled to himself. "It'll even out the plain field a bit."

Even out the plain field? "What do you mean?" Arnold asked.

"Well now, seeing you two together, it kinda makes sense that Helga's been putting off for a while now," Gerald paused as he let Phoebe walk to her desk. Soon after, he started to whisper. "I mean, how long has she been mean to us?"

Arnold thought this over. "I guess since pre-k. But I don't see how—oh."

"That's right Arnold,_ oh_," Gerald reached over and patted Arnold's back. "You know, maybe you should take the initiative!"

Arnold gave Gerald a weird look but before he could protest, Gerald continued. "Since she's been waiting on you for the past seven years and has been just faithful to you even though you've never been together except for now, maybe you should be the one who starts all the hand holding, cuddling, and all that couple junk. I'd say kissing, but she already took that one."

Gerald was right. Helga had waited for so long for him and she was also the one who had technically started their boyfriend-girlfriend relationship. (Even though, he was the one who asked her.) She deserved to be given love that would make up for all those years of waiting! But, not too much at the same time or all at once, of course. They're only ten.

As soon as the door had opened, Arnold's head automatically turned to its direction, where it had revealed Helga standing by the doorway. He lit up and smiled at her, and surprisingly enough, she smiled back at him. Unfortunately, it had to be cut short due to their classmates starting to do kissy-faces behind him. Because of that,

Helga had glared at them all before she walked down the aisle of desks to her own. As she did, she passed by Arnold's desk and squeezed his hand quickly and gently before she would place herself on her own seat and desk.

She needed to live and let love.

So, he started a plan.

* * *

That day, they had art class.

Incidents, my friend, happen so fast it feels like two seconds even though it happened for duration of two minutes. What had happened was simple: Helga needed strong glue for her art project, so she got some superglue to do the job. Technically, Helga didn't spill the glue. Simply, she put too much on, accidentally got some on her hands, and was about to wash the glue off. Right before Arnold had grabbed her hand. Oops.

In all honesty, Arnold felt a bit responsible for that. Not only for absentmindedly grabbing her hand, but also distracting her in the first place. Now, he didn't exactly know how he had distracted her, but he knew he was the reason, one way or another. The giveaway of his assumption was when Helga cried out his name in frustration as soon as she got the glue on her hand.

Their art teacher had ran over to see what the commotion was all about, and when she heard what had happened, she told them that they'd have to run their hands over warm water. Unfortunately, the sink in the room's pipes were under construction, so they were ordered to go to the nurse. Unfortunately, the nurse was away for lunch. Why a school would leave their own clinic, of all places, unattended, they'll never know.

Fortunately, the nurse had returned to the office as soon as lunch ended. Even though neither Arnold nor Helga really ever disliked the fact of them holding hands (even if they were super glued to each other) when they found out that the nurse had returned to her post, they rushed over to her office. They supposed that if their classmates hadn't teased them so much about the whole hand holding thing, maybe they would've let a trip to the nurse's office "slip their mind".

The bell had now rung, signaling the end of the day.

And as usual, the rush had emptied out as the kids all ran over to wait for the bus stop or their parents to go and pick them up. Although, Arnold did not run today. He had other things in his mind distracting him. Things such as the events that transpired during lunch time.

It wasn't anything big, really. He even offered Helga to feed her if she had any trouble eating her lunch.

_"Oh, I don't think I'll have trouble doing that, Arnold," _Arnold assumed she had said that to assure him, but the distasteful tone of her voice when she said that made him worry. It worried him even more when they had sat down and she wasn't eating anything. Of course, Arnold being Arnold had to inquire her about that. Both he and

Helga herself expected her to blow up and act all defensive, but Helga only sighed. _"Miriam didn't pack me lunch."  
_

Arnold then offered her half of his lunch, and Helga had refused._ "Just because you're my boyfriend, football head, doesn't mean your right to pity me increased." _So, he gave her some money to buy her own lunch. Helga kept on denying his offers, only to go and buy herself some lunch if it'll make him shut up. _"There, happy?" _For that moment, Arnold was but there was still something about that incident that had bothered him. Was it the fact that her mom didn't make her lunch? Maybe. Although, he was surprised when Helga promised he'll pay him back the next day. She didn't have to do that, really. Don't all good boyfriends (Arnold still hasn't successfully crossed that bridge yet) do that? He sure hoped so.

He didn't want her money.

What he did want, at the moment, was a sincere hand holding session with her.

He remembered that as soon as he and Helga weren't glued together anymore, Gerald had shoved him folded pieces of papers into his hands. He took one look at Gerald, and he explained himself.

_"This list, in no relation to the List that'll make the perfect Saturday, was handed down from kid generation to kid generation," He begun. "I would've gotten Sid to open for me, but this is a one-on-one type of thing, Arnold."  
_

_Arnold opened the first folded piece of paper. It was entitled, "STEPS IN AN ADVANCING RELATIONSHIP", capital letters included. "This list has been passed down to every kid in a class that starts dating. And by dating, I mean really dating. Fuzzy Slippers saw you and Helga together earlier, and gave me these papers to give to you. The first is supposed to be a list of what you should do in a relationship, step by step, the second is supposed to be a guide to help you if you get stuck and don't want to ask about it. Also, this is supposed to help you. Once you know that someone else needs it more than you do, pass it on."  
_

Arnold had unfolded the piece of paper and looked down at it.

First on the list was "Asking the Question, Level 1"; for that, he assumed was asking someone out. Next was hand holding, then there was hugging, asking them out on a date, _kissing…_ He then wondered if they necessarily _had_ to go along with the order on the list. Not even one second of getting that thing and they had already went out of schedule. When he approached the door, he folded the piece of paper again and tucked it away back in his pocket. And that's when it had hit him. Should he tell Helga about this or not? It would be the right thing to do, but he already felt weird confronting to her about it.

Speaking of which…

"Hey Helga," He greeted her.

"Hey football head," He recalled the second sheet of paper.

_**PET NAMES; **__It's not necessary for it to exist in a relationship, but it starts popping up unexpectedly sometime. It's obviously to show endearment towards the other person in the relationship. Some are commonly used in relationships such as sweetie, honey, and babe or baby. Others maybe more personal. My advice, don't start using pet names prematurely. In some cases, if your significant other still uses teasing names on you, it's most likely their way of showing endearment. Example of this case being—_

"Hey, earth to football head!" He never even finished reading that part of the list either.

"Can I walk you home?" _'Smooth, Arnold,'_ He told himself mockingly. _'Smooth.'  
_

"Whatever floats your boat, Arnoldo," She sighed. Arnold smiled at this and offered her his hand. Helga rolled her eyes. "Because having my hand super glued to yours wasn't enough," But she took it anyways.

"Gosh, this'll take some getting used to."

"Boy howdy, it might take _forever_ to get used to."

"I still don't know how to feel about this…" Rhonda muttered underneath her breath. If Helga and Arnold, of all couples on her marriage predictor started to go out first, who knows when she'll…

"Oh Rhonda…" Curly greeted her with full knowledge of who she got on her own game. Rhonda groaned and stepped away from him.

"Well, I'm ever so certain that it's about time."

"I concur."

"Preach it sister. But still, I think Stinky's right…" Gerald watched the two turn the corner. "This will take some getting used to."

"I'm right about something!? This calls for lemon pudding!"

The walk to Helga's house was only a little awkward, maybe because of the fact that the two had nothing to talk about. Arnold had contemplated bringing up the topic of the papers he received today, but he didn't want to make it seem like he was forced to do this. Honestly, he had thoughts on holding her hand for real the moment he asked her the question. He even hoped that they would walk to class together doing the deed. On the other hand, Helga was doing her best not to melt in her spot.

_'Oh my gosh, he's holding my hand!'_ She squealed in delight. _'No! Stop it Helga old girl. You will not freak out… I hope my hands aren't too sweaty.'  
_

_'When will I be able to tell her? I don't want her to think that I have to do this!' _Arnold have an awkward smile to Helga, who in turn did the same. _'Gee, I hope my hands aren't too sweaty.'  
_

"Well, this is my house," Helga spoke up. _'Doi.'  
_

"Yup," Arnold nodded. _'I am so terrible at this…'_ He walked her up to the steps. "So…"

"So…"

"I'll see you tomorrow?"

"I'll save you a seat?"

"That'll be nice…"

_'Just. Terrible. At. This.'  
_

"Well, night Arnold," She reached for the door handle and opened the door.

What had possessed him to do the following actions, he had no idea. He just hoped he wasn't doing things too fast.

"Night," He kissed her cheek and she was about to close the door until she realized what he had just done.

"… Night,"

"You said that already."

"I know what I said!" She then slammed the door. But then opened it up again. "Now go home before it gets dark, football head. I'd like to have that seat filled by you tomorrow."

"Whatever you say Helga."

"That's right, whatever I say!" She slammed the door one final time. After she did, she leaned against it and sighed dreamily as she touched the cheek he kissed.

On the other side of the door, Arnold walked down from the steps and pulled out the sheet of paper.

… _Example of this case being Phillip and Gertrude Shortman._

Gertrude.

_Gertie.  
_

_'Grandpa… you have a lot of explaining to do…'_

* * *

_{They are so going out of the intended order. I'm making no promises on what I'll end up writing next, but even though it's supposed to be hugging, it'll probably be Arnold asking Helga out on a date, the boarding house and all its residents finding about his recent relationship, Grandpa telling Arnold the Gertie story with more details, one or all. I have no idea. Although, see ya'll next time!}_


End file.
